Finally, the economy can take off

Vandudzai Kurebwa Buy Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe can finally breathe a sigh of relief and happily say the waiting is over. The President has been inaugurated and nothing can stop this nation from moving forward. Politically, legally and even diplomatically our nation is set for a new beginning. In a few days’ time, we will all know the new Cabinet and see an earnest resumption of work in Government offices as well as industry moving forward

Indications are that following the elections and the peaceful nature that characterised them, delegates attending the UNWTO General Assembly in Victoria Falls have come in droves. Flights into the premier resort town from Harare and Johannesburg in South Africa are fully booked. This is a good setting for a new Zimbabwe.

We have been in the preparatory phase for far too long. Those with a short memory may be tempted to situate this phase some four years ago when the inclusive Government was consummated. For this group, 2008 was a very forgettable year and 2009 was a perilous and shaky start to an arduous attempt to restart an engine that seemed at some point to have almost stalled.

The four years past were spent endlessly cranking our economic engine to roar with vigour but alas, each time, the machine seemed to get in gear some unexplainable wobble would occur resulting in a disappointing failure to ascend to expected heights. The inclusive Government promised so much and achieved very little.

There is thus hope that now we have a possibility to come up with a Government that demonstrates beyond any shadow of doubt that times we spent in the trenches have been worth it. If indeed experience is the best teacher, surely, we now know it all. Like the Germany we read about in history books, we attained record levels of hyperinflation.

Like neighbours Zambia our currency became worthless. We even went a step further. We lost a currency and had to learn to leave with a borrowed one. By now we have experimented with every possible economic remedy. Even for those few years we had Sterp 1, Sterp 2, Medium Term Plan, Industrial and Trade Policy. In fact, on a monthly basis we seemed to launch policy after policy. It was in the area of implementation that we were found wanting.

Our trade deficit shot up as we liberalised and filled the supermarket shelves with imported goods. For a nation that was seeking to reboot and had little money, we carelessly allowed imports to exceed US$7 billion against exports averaging US$3 billion. The subsequent trade deficit was disastrous.

With sanctions still around our liquidity situation became worse and productive sectors could not secure the needed funding to retool and compete effectively against countries that now saw Zimbabwe as a little export market where they could easily access United States dollars.

Some clever entrepreneurs even realised that they could afford to sell their products below market prices existent in their countries, if not for short-term gains, for ensuring that our local manufacturers were totally knocked out forever.

As these things took place, policymakers seemed to uninterested in protecting and supporting the local industry. A new and poorly applied term called competitiveness became the most sung and used to justify why our industry was finding it difficult to match up.

The State Procurement Board joined the bandwagon of “foreign is better” mindset by awarding most public tenders to companies that imported products.

In some cases pure corruption became the yardstick in awarding local tenders as local companies with products that competed favourably against imported ones on both price and quality were denied opportunities by a body that should prioritise them.

Willowvale Mazda Motor Industries was perhaps the biggest victim. In many tenders their prices were at par or below by US$200 against those for foreign vehicles and yet they lost tenders in a country where the law explicitly demands that they must be given preference.

From employing in excess of 1 000 as a unit and collectively with Quest Motors and as an industry close to 100 000 jobs, our motor industry now contributes less than 5 000 jobs.

The industry has presented evidence of dumping of first-hand vehicles by South Africa whose own cars cost more in that country than they do in Zimbabwe. Their frustration is that with all the evidence Government has not listened.

Whereas 1980 presented political self- determination, 2013 must usher economic transformation where the local industry stops being treated like second class citizens.

Our economic ministries that include Finance and Industry and Commerce must start listening to local industry and ensure that the public tender system is free from corrupt tendencies that favour foreigners to locals. The local procurement laws must also be strengthened.

In addition, we must desist from allowing South African supermarket chains from crowding our local produce as they seek to fulfil their mother country’s mandatory procurement quotas.

The situation in the motor industry also deserves urgent attention if we are to entertain any chances of competing in that sector. Many a time Willowvale has indicated that it has the capacity to assemble any type of vehicle as long as Government supports the bringing in of imported units as knocked down kits.

That, in turn, would mean no one is denied the opportunity to drive a vehicle of their choice but they do so in a way that supports local industry and creates jobs. The Government did well to support mandatory blending. However, a holistic approach that drives the motor industry as a whole would be more beneficial.

As Buy Zimbabwe we can’t wait for this new beginning. We hope the experience of the past few months has taught us to prioritise the local industry.

Till we meet again, God bless.